Explorer
by Whiskey
Summary: After the events of "Bride" Lois begins to explore the world of superheroes and extra terrestrials.
1. Star City

**Disclaimer: They belong to DC, The CW, AlMiles ...**

**A/N: I'll admit now that I have no idea where this is going. I'm just trying to amuse myself over the break and while Erica is absent from the show (love that girl!). It's set just after the events of "bride" and will remain from the point of view of Lois Lane.**

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**Star City**

They'd arrived at Star General in an ambulance, Lois in the rust coloured bridesmaid dress, her hairpins falling loose, holding Jimmy's limp hand as he lay bandaged on the gurney and insisting it would all be okay through blurry eyes and a shaking smile. In retrospect she was glad he hadn't seen her, unconscious as he'd been. The piteous looks from the paramedics had told her just how uninspiring her overwhelming lack of hope had been.

She'd remained at Jimmy's side however, leaving only when the doctors wheeled him off to surgery. She'd been there when he woke. There to deliver the awful news.

Lois didn't think she'd ever seen a man more devastated than James Olsen in that moment; his bloodless look followed by a determined move to rise from the bed, forcing Lois to stop him before he managed to pull the drip from his wrist, manoeuvring him gently back onto his sheets. She'd put her arms around him then, letting him scream into her shoulder, and before long they'd both been sobbing - supporting each other as the tears fell.

Three weeks, eighty seven cups of bad hospital coffee and five bedside screenings of The Maltese Falcon later - still no word from Ollie, and Lois was starting to get twitchy. With the satellite technology and superhero gadgetry at his command, the Green Arrow should surely have found something by now, but calls to his cell had gone unanswered and his office insisted he'd gone to FiJi to recover from stress. He had after all_ witnessed the violent kidnapping of a colleague at her wedding._ It was proof at least that Ollie had blown off all other commitments to search for Chloe, but Lois would still have ripped that snotty receptionist a new one had they been in the same room.

Lack of communication aside, Ollie had actually been a Godsend throughout this ordeal. He'd arranged accommodation for Lois (a five minute walk from the hospital), paid Jimmy's medical bill, sent communications to Gabe and the General informing them of the situation and, according to Clark, paid for repairs to the barn. It was generous to say the least and Lois reflected that there were tragically few people in the world like Oliver Queen.

Clark had checked in a few times, promising like a broken record they'd find Chloe soon, assuring Lois she could take as much time from work as she needed – he'd arranged it all with Tess – and generally worrying over how she and Jimmy were doing. The words were nice - and Lois knew his wish to comfort her was sincere - but somehow his calls always left her feeling hollow; as though he were stringing her along. She knew it was irrational - Clark most likely had no clue what romantic thoughts had gone through her mind that fateful day - but that didn't make his clueless attention any less painful to bear.

The last time he'd called she'd heard Lana chirping away in the background and had made the fastest excuse she could think of – Jimmy needs sandwiches! - to get off the phone. She'd screwed up her face against the uprising tears – she refused to cry over whatever this was while her friend was still in the critical ward - and had gone back to fix Jimmy's pillows and hand him the latest issue of _Photographer's Monthly_. She'd avoided Clark's calls ever since.

Now she was in her usual chair by Jimmy's bed, wrapped in a blanket, feet on his mattress, reading an ancient issue of Warrior Angel she'd found out in the waiting room. Not her usual choice of distraction, but the other option was fashion magazines from the nineties and she'd already made fun of them all.

"Which one is that?" asked Jimmy unexpectedly. She'd thought he was asleep.

"Er ..." she flipped the cover. "Issue three sixty."

"Oh," he said, disappointed. "Well it beats the fashion mags I guess."

"Yeah," she agreed, though honestly she found comics in general disappointing - all action, no substance – just like a lot of the guys she'd grown up with on various bases. "Have you read it?"

"No. It's one of the new ones. They rebooted the story a few years ago. I'm more an original series kind of guy."

"You _are_ an original," Lois agreed fondly.

"Have the police called yet?" he asked quietly.

"No," Lois sighed, aware that this question would lead to yet another hashing out of all the possibilities of where Chloe might be, who was looking for her, what the hell had taken her and, most mysterious of all, _why_. They'd gone at it obsessively for the first two weeks after Jimmy had regained consciousness and the answers were as elusive as ever. Now the conversation was getting stale and Lois was starting to feel they needed a new angle. "Not since the last time," she said; the last time being two weeks earlier when Detective Sawyer had bluntly informed Lois that that if a kidnap victim wasn't recovered within forty eight hours, the chances of survival were slim. Lois had responded by saying she knew that much from watching CSI and did Sawyer actually _do_ anything useful for the money taxpayer's poured into the police department? "I'm not sure they even consider supernatural kidnappings part of their jurisdiction," she added, more bitterly than she intended.

"You think maybe the red and blue blur is onto it?" Jimmy asked hopefully. "He's saved your life twice that we know of. Maybe he's looking out for your family too."

This was another possibility they'd already discussed at length, but again, their conversations had gone in circles. The red blue blur was an unknown. Lois smiled sadly. "I'm sure he is," she said, sure of no such thing, but like Jimmy, she hoped it was true.

"You think that thing was a meteor freak?" asked Jimmy. "I mean, we _were_ in Smallville." He shook his head. "_Why_ did we choose to have it in Smallville? I mean, we were just _asking_ for trouble. Sure, the farm was perfect for photos, but how many times has that barn been repaired over the last ten years because some freak tore it to pieces? We were tempting fate!"

"People get married in Smallville all the time without getting attacked by spiny monsters, Jim. You couldn't have known," she said tiredly.

"It didn't seem like a meteor freak though, did it?" he said, apparently choosing to ignore her words. "I mean it looked ... "

"Extra terrestrial?" asked Lois softly. It wasn't the first time the idea had been voiced between them and, as previously, it left her feeling useless. Corrupt billionaires she could fight, but aliens? Where did you even start?

"Yeah," Jimmy agreed. "And Lois, we've both seen things - that ship you found in the damn, the research that Kara was doing - and if that thing _was_ E.T. it could have phoned home and had Chloe beamed to the mothership by now!"

"Jimmy ... " She reached out to comfort him, but Jimmy closed his eyes and shook his head, hiding his eyes behind his palm as he lost himself in grief. She curled her fingers into a loose fist and withdrew her hand.

Suddenly he looked up, hope lighting his eyes. "Wait, wait, wait" he said, "Lois! You need to call _Kara_! She knows more about this stuff than anyone else we know. She ..." he hesitated, his eyes shifting guiltily, clearly on the verge of revealing something exciting but held back by ... a moral imperative?

"What?!" Lois demanded impatiently, slightly alarmed that he might hold _anything_ back at this juncture.

"It's confidential," he said, looking worried.

"I will hit you," said Lois.

"Okay," said Jimmy, one hand up in surrender. "Okay, about a year ago, Kara hacked into the Department of Domestic Security to get information on that ship you found. She said it was a hobby, but with those skills ... look, I know it's a long shot, but it's been weeks, and if she can tell us anything about what the government has on the alien invasion ... Lois. Please. Can you call her?"

Lois felt her disappointment like a blow. Jimmy's revelation would have been interesting a month ago, but now it felt like the most useless piece of information he could have offered. Whatever her hobbies, Kara was still just Kara; sweet and perky and kind of huggable, but not a major league player in the game of government intrigue. Looking into Jimmy's hopeful face though, and feeling the same anguish of loss, Lois nodded. "Go back to sleep Jimmy. I'll track her down."

"You're the best Lois," he said, obediently closing his eyes. Somehow his confidence in her was heartbreaking.

"Yeah," she said, and reluctantly retreated to the hall.

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He picked up on the tenth ring. "Hey Smallville," she said, before he could speak. She needed the upper hand here.

"Lois?" he asked, and to her disappointment he didn't sound pleased to hear her. "I thought you weren't talking to me. Are you still at the hospital?"

"That's ridiculous. Why would I not be talking to you?" she said, acutely aware of how childish the obvious lie was. He had a way of bringing this side of her out; this petty competitive side. There was something about him that was just ... frustrating.

"I keep getting your voicemail – "

"I'm in a hospital. They tell you to keep your phone off!" True enough, she thought, feeling justified.

"I left messages," he countered, "and you haven't called me back." This was also true. He'd been calling every couple of days. _Just calling to see how you're holding up. Let me know how Jimmy's feeling. Don't give up hope; I know we'll find Chloe soon. Call me when you get this, okay?_

"I've been busy here."

"Yeah," he said sadly, not bothering to argue the point. She forced down a surge of emotion. Under normal circumstances he would have risen to the challenge and fought her for the truth. He was changing the pattern, leaving her with an even more intense feeling of loss. She wondered what he was thinking. Did he suspect her feelings? Was he distracted by his latest drama with Lana? Was he just too tired to deal with her in the face of all the tragedy?

She put it out of her head and focussed on the reason for her call.

"Listen up Smallville, Jimmy and I were talking, and it seems pretty clear to us that that thing in your barn was ... Look, I know that you're a non-believer when it comes to this, but you can't deny that that thing looked extra terrestrial, and apparently –"

"Look, Lois, this is a really bad time," he interrupted curtly. "If I call you back do you think you could actually answer your phone?"

"Smallville, hang on! I just need you to –"

"I'm sorry Lois, but I have to go."

And with that he hung up.

It took Lois a second to realise what had just happened, and when she did she took a moment to gape at her phone before shoving it back in her pocket and hitting her fist against the nearest wall. Tears of pain gathered in her eyes as she bent over, gripping her fist in her other hand. "Damn him!" she said, then looked around to be sure no one had noticed her outburst before heading out to find the nearest internet cafe. She needed to find a number for Kara.

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Star Gen was a full service hospital with a cafeteria, gift shop, newsagent, florist, and ... a Cafe Connect. Finding an internet connection was easy; finding Kara - not so much.

Trying to ignore the thirteen year olds playing Gangster Life at the next booth, Lois discovered there were twenty five Kents listed in Minnesota. Unfortunately, of the twenty who'd actually answered their landlines, none had ever heard of a Kara Kent.

Lois then tried Martha, kicking herself for not thinking of this _before_ cold calling strangers, but the Senator was to be in meetings for the next four hours.

A google search brought up very little in the way of useful information (though who knew Kara had been in the School Choir?) and Clark had yet to call back, leaving Lois with no leads on a simple contact number.

She cursed herself for never having asked for it when Kara was around, but really, they'd never been that close. Clark and jeans size was all they'd really had in common, and even after rescuing the girl from a crazy busboy in Detroit, Lois had never really bothered to make friends. She was beginning to think she might actually have to go back to the Planet just to track the info she needed, when her phone beeped with an incoming SMS.

"0600, F-HW, Nellie Bly DB. 1900, Queen I. Hellipad."

Translation: The General wanted her at Fort Hayworth by 6am tomorrow for a debrief on what had happened at the wedding, and there was a helicopter coming to collect her at 7pm on the roof of Queen Industries - which meant that Oliver had somehow started working with the military during his three week phone silence. The fact that the summons had come in the form of a text message meant that the General was leaving no room for argument on this one.

She looked at her watch. It was 6pm. Queen Industries was on the other side of the city and traffic at this hour was going to be a bitch. She thought of the red blue blur with envy. How nice it must be to move that fast through peak hour!

She grabbed her bag and headed back to the hospital to say goodbye to Jimmy before catching a cab to the helicopter, noting to herself that she would be keeping the receipt. This one was going on "_uncle"_ (ha) Sam's tab.


	2. Fort Hayworth

**Disclaimer: They belong to DC, The CW, AlMiles ...**

**A/N: I'll admit now that I have no idea where this is going. I'm just trying to amuse myself over the break and while Erica is absent from the show (love that girl!). It's set just after the events of "bride" and will remain from the point of view of Lois Lane.**

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**Fort Hayworth**

"Hi Ted!" Lois shouted over the beating of the chopper. Oliver had sent his personal pilot to the roof of the forty story Queen Industries building to fetch her, and there was something in her that felt incredibly relieved at the sight of the man's familiar rugged face. "Long time no see!"

Ted grinned widely from behind a huge pair of aviator glasses. "Miss Lane!" he yelled back from the cab, holding out a hand to pull her up beside him. She swung herself in confidently, throwing her pack in the back and pulling on the spare headset to hear communications.

They lifted off, the night lights of Star City becoming a virtual patchwork beneath them.

"Been anywhere interesting lately?" Lois asked, thinking this might be a good opportunity to get an idea of Ollie's activities over the last few weeks.

"You know me!" said Ted, "I go everywhere." He chuckled to himself in a way that told Lois he knew what she was thinking, and she was barking up the wrong tree. Oliver inspired loyalty, and those closest to him knew when to keep quite.

Knowing she'd likely see Oliver in a few hours anyway, Lois let it go, and instead hit Ted with a rally of questions on his wife and, now five year old, son. She'd always liked the affable man, and the conversation was a good way to distract herself from what lay ahead.

Before long they were touching down on a tarmac outside the sprawling structure of Fort Hayworth, and Lois was bidding Ted farewell as she pulled on her coat and followed a young Corporal; "This way to the General's office Miss Lane."

Lois knew from her days as an army brat that Fort Hayworth had been abandoned for a number of years, and had been reminded from the air of just how isolated it was (the closest town she'd seen from the helicopter had been over 50 miles away) so whatever operation was taking place here, Lois figured it was happening pretty far under the radar.

Walking through cold steel corridors, she observed that only a small number of barracks had been set up (enough for about two hundred soldiers - special ops by the look of the unspecific black uniforms), and that a limited access area had been activated (she noted an officer using fingerprint identification) for privileged personnel. Making a note to investigate that later, she spotted a door marked "Gen. Lane" up ahead.

"Wait here please Miss," said the Corporal politely, indicating a small row of office chairs by the wall (a makeshift waiting area). He then straightened his hat and shoulders before knocking on the door and entering, leaving Lois alone in the hall.

"Sure," she said, taking the closest seat, "Why not?"

She spent the next ten minutes making a mental list of ways to berate Oliver for ignoring her calls before the Corporal poked his head around the door and wordlessly nodded her in.

Steeling herself, she lifted her chin, grabbed her bag and strode in with as much authority as she could muster. Sweet feminine charm had its place. The General's office wasn't it.

The room was large, and clearly decorated by somebody with strong senses of history and patriotism; star spangled banners broke up gold framed portraits of presidents and mounted 19th century arms lining the walls. Filing cabinets were stacked to Lois's left, and, at the room's centre, was a large mahogany desk, much like others she'd seen in offices her father had occupied over the years, adorned with the familiar photograph of Sam Lane standing proudly by his wife and a four year old Lois.

The real Sam Lane sat in an ornate high back chair, wearing fatigues and frowning over steepled fingertips. "Thankyou Corporal," he said shortly, and the young soldier saluted before shuffling out the door.

"Daddy," said Lois expectantly, choosing to stand rather than sit in one of the stuffy looking arm chairs before his desk.

"Lo," he said, with an unexpected note of sympathy that made her shoulders slump a little as she fought to keep a wave of tears in check. She suddenly realised how much effort it had taken to keep it together over the last three weeks, staying strong for Jimmy's sake with no support of her own. Now she was standing in the presence of a mountain that could easily support her, and there was a powerful temptation to simply let go. As it always was with him though, she felt that a show of honest emotion would evoke a certain level of disappointment, so she fought the impulse with everything she had.

"So," she said, "debrief bright and early in the morning huh? I assume you already have everyone's statements from the Smallville and Metropolis PDs?"

"We're taking a slightly different angle on this one than the police."

"And the special ops boys roaming the hallways?"

"Training for a particular assignment," he said, adroitly avoiding the real question. "I take it you didn't get a good look at the, uh, _creature_ in the barn?"

"I don't think many people did," she said, a little defensively. "It moved around pretty fast. As in: _faster than the naked eye can see_. I think Jimmy got the best look at it when it attacked him, and his theory is that it's probably extra terrestrial."

"What do _you_ think?" the General asked with a raised brow.

"I'm not ruling it out," she said frankly, aware the response made her look slightly crazy. "But I was outside talking to Oliver when it started. Like I said I didn't get a great view of the thing. Speaking of Oliver, I notice you seem to have Queen Industries' cooperation in all of this. Is he around?"

"He'll be at the meeting tomorrow," the General responded a little stiffly. Lois recognised the tone. It was a subtle indicator that he was withholding information and no amount of harassing would draw it out of him.

"So, he's not here now?" she pressed.

"I'm afraid not Lo," he said gently. "Some of the other guests from the wedding are here however. Your friend Clark and a Miss Lang arrived earlier today. They're staying in guest quarters down the hall. I've put you in a room close to them. Now -" he noticed the look on her face. "Is there a problem?"

The tears were coming back. She blinked rapidly but it was too late. "No," she said, in outright defiance of the obvious truth.

"Lo," he said again sadly, forgetting whatever it was he was going to say and rising from his chair. He moved around the desk and placed big arms around her in a slightly awkward embrace which she returned in a similar fashion. She appreciated the effort, but couldn't help remembering what it felt like to be hugged by Clark; big warm bear hugs with that made you feel like everything would be okay. The General's hug felt like a poor imitation, and made her feel the loss even more strongly. Outwardly though she stopped the flow of tears and released her father in order to stand tall before him. He seemed satisfied with that and even a little relieved. "You've had a long ride," he said kindly, "and we're going to get started early tomorrow. I'll show you your room."

She nodded, feeling a little shell shocked as he grabbed her bag and led her to a small row of living quarters down the hall from his office. There were about ten of them lined up and numbered like hotel rooms, and when The General pushed the fourth door open she discovered in wasn't just a dormitory, but a virtual apartment that lay hidden behind it. Like the General's office it was decorated warmly with a strong feeling of Americana (minus the weaponry) and consisted of a decent kitchenette, a furnished lounge area with a TV, and a bedroom off the side with a well made double bed and tallboy. There would be no natural light and it was not the most luxurious thing in the world, but it was definitely a few steps up from the barracks. These apartments were no doubt intended as temporary housing for Officers and their families and/or guests.

"There's a map of the facility on the wall there," the General pointed, "and the mess hall has been opened up for meals. Dinner was two hours ago, but there's food available if you go down there after hours."

"Thanks Daddy," she said, as he placed her bag down on an armchair.

"Get some sleep Lo. I'll see you in the morning."

He placed a hand on her back in a comforting way, then retreated, back to his office for an all nighter no doubt.

Lois flopped onto the two seater and flicked the TV on with the remote, trying not to think about Chloe or the couple that might be doing God knew what in the next room. News, news, Idol recap, Simpsons rerun, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing in rollerskates ...

There was a knock at the door.

"It's open!" She flicked the set off, hoping this was Ollie come to give her some info, and twisted in her chair to see. It wasn't Ollie. It was Clark, looking much more the farm boy than he had in a while in a faded grey skivvy and jeans. She'd become accustomed to seeing him in suits. To her eyes though he'd come to look attractive in whatever he wore, and right now a part of her hated him for that.

"Hey," he said, coming in quietly and closing the door behind him. "I ran into your Dad, he said you were here."

"Smallville," she greeted, standing awkwardly, not sure what she should be doing with her hands. Ordinary they would have moved in for a hug at this point, but he hung back at the door.

"How are you?" he asked, all big blue eyes and sincerity.

She nodded. "As well as can be expected. You know, all things considered; cousin kidnapped, friend in hospital, people hanging up on me ..."

"Yeah," he said, with a sheepish smile, "I wanted to apologize for that. The stern military man was ordering us into the helicopter, so I had to go, and then my phone ran out of charge. By the time we got here you were already on your way so ..."

"Oh," she said. "_We?_" She cursed her voice for sounding high pitched, even to her own ears.

"Me and Lana," he qualified, as anticipated.

"Right," she said, averting her eyes and hoping he didn't see the pain there. "Of course you two want to spend some time together."

"She's staying at the farm for a while," he said, "Until we find Chloe. Or she was until the military got involved. They wouldn't say how long they want us to stay here."

"I'm guessing a few of the mysteries will be solved in the morning," she said.

"Yeah, they will" he agreed, with a level of dread she didn't quite understand.

"Have you seen Ollie?" she asked, keenly.

"Not in a while," he said. "I heard he went to Fiji."

"It's the common theory," she said with a smirk, and from the way he smirked back at her she realised that they had both caught on to Oliver's ruse.

"Speaking of theories," he said, "You mentioned before I hung up that you and Jimmy had one. Aliens?"

"If you came here to mock Smallville -"

"No!" he said. "No. In fact I have a feeling a few things are going to come to light in the morning regarding that."

She quirked a smile. "Really?" she said, feeling her swagger return at this admission. "The sceptic comes around. You know Smallville, you should just start bowing to my opinions on all matters from this point forward. Huge time saver."

She expected him to give her his usual _whatever Lois_ smirk at these words, but all she got was a worried look as he started to shift on his feet.

"Got something to say Smallville?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, drawing the word out. She raised a brow. "Can we, um, sit down?" he asked nervously.

"This sounds serious," she said, making a curt gesture at the two seater and plonking herself into it. He took a hesitant couple of steps and gingerly sat beside her. She noticed that he was very careful not to touch her at all, and felt her heart break that little bit more. The almost kiss was obviously on his mind too, and he was making damn sure not to give her any more invitations.

"Hit me," she said bravely, bracing herself for the inevitable _just friends_ speech she just knew was on the tip of his tongue, fighting the instinct to jump in and give it first to avoid rejection. If he wanted to say it, she would let him. At least he was being honest.

"Lois," he started, and right away it sounded rehearsed. "We've known each other a long time, and we've been through a lot together ..." he hesitated, unsure.

"We have," she agreed, a little more tearfully than intended.

He took this for encouragement and gave her a tiny thankful smile that made her fight to keep it together. Why was it that when before she had only seen a self conscious, slightly odd, farm boy, she now saw potential, kindness, strength and beautiful eyes? Would it always be like this from here on out? Would things have been different if she'd seen it earlier?

"I want you to know," he was saying, soldiering on, "that I have a lot of faith in you, and that I _trust_ you."

"I trust you too," she said, her eyes moving to his hands in order to avoid his earnest expression. He was fidgeting. On impulse she reached over and took one of those huge sinewy hands in hers. Almost instantly she regretted it. His hand felt wonderful, warm and solid, but it wasn't hers to hold. She needed to stop this.

"Lois, there's something I want to tell – "

"No!" She released his hand and stood up, putting some distance between them. "Look, Smallville, I know where you're going with this, and you know what? It's okay."

"It is?" he asked, looking baffled.

"Yeah," she said. "It was a wedding! Emotions were heightened. And maybe we were both feeling a little lonely. And okay, we _almost _kissed. But wh-who were we kidding? That-that's not _us_. We're not – " She shook her head and gestured a bit, searching for the right words, and suddenly realised, to her horror, that there were tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked to Clark to find a look of wide eyed pity on his face. Damn it! She was busted. Oh, god she couldn't look at him. She turned her back to him, hiding from those eyes, crossed her arms and wiped at her face to get the tears off.

"Lois?" he said compassionately, right behind her now. She couldn't speak. "Lois?" he said again, softly touching her shoulder, trying to get her to face him. The sympathy in his voice made her want to run.

"Smallville. Please, just go," she managed.

"We should talk about this," he protested quietly.

"Talk about what?" she asked, not turning around. "There's nothing here. You're back with Lana," she took a steadying breath and turned to face him, "and there are more important things to worry about right now."

He dropped his hand to his side and took a respectful step back, his eyes searching hers for a long moment before he resumed the familiar closed off look. "You're right," he said.

"Always am," she said, relieved that he had backed off.

He smiled at the bravado. "We need to be focussed on Chloe," he said.

"We do."

"And that's actually why I'm here."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," he said. "There are some things that are going to come out in that meeting tomorrow; things I really want you to hear from me first."

"You know something about Chloe?" she asked urgently, kicking herself for not asking this earlier.

"No," he said sadly. "Well, not exactly. I mean I don't know where she is, but I do know a little about the thing that took her."

"Do you think it's E.T.?" she asked, wondering if he had perhaps contacted Kara before her.

He raised a brow. "Actually," he said slowly, "I know it is."

"How?" she asked eagerly, getting excited, imagining the look on Jimmy's face when he heard this.

"Because he and I came from the same planet," said Clark unexpectedly.

She stared for a moment, sure that he was joking. Then, when he showed no sign of laughing, and simply fidgeted under her gaze, she took a slight step back from him, unsure of what the game was. His face showed hurt for a split second before closing off again.

"Okay," she said with furrowed brows and one hand raised before her in a distancing gesture. "You might want to be kind and rewind there Starman. You're from _where_ now?"

He looked around the room, pained, and she had the distinct impression that he had been hoping for a different reaction. "Lois, can we sit down?"

"I think I'll stand," she said. "But maybe _you_ should sit, you know, you've had a rough time lately; Chloe missing, Jimmy in hospital, Lana coming back, scary monsters, it's really not all that surprising that the delusions have set in. So, really, there's the couch. Have a lie down even, I'll get you some tea."

"Lois, I'm not crazy," he said with a nervous laugh. "I'm not. I _really am_ from another planet. It was called Krypton."

She gave him a long incredulous look, not believing that he would choose _this moment_ to be so ridiculous, before deciding to fight him with logic. "Clark, that makes no sense. You grew up in Kansas. You've lived your whole life there. How could you be from another planet?"

"I was adopted when I was three," he answered smoothly. "I arrived on earth with the meteor shower. My parents found me in a cornfield – along with my ship."

She nodded, humouring him. "Okay. Okay then Smallville, so you're saying that if I called your Mom right now and asked her about all of this she would back you up."

Clark shook his head. "She'd deny it, unless I talked to her first. She's been hiding it for eighteen years, she won't confirm it unless she's sure that you already know the truth."

She searched his face, looking for any sign that this was some kind of elaborate setup. All she found were big sincere blue eyes.

"This is insane," she protested. "You can't be from the same planet as that monster Clark, you look nothing alike! Unless you've shape-shifted into human form so as not to frighten the locals," she added sarcastically.

"That thing was genetically engineered. Normal Kryptonians look just like humans. On the outside. My blood is a whole other story."

"Your blood?"

"Under a microscope there are some pretty big differences."

"Of course," she said. "Unfortunately though, I forgot to pack a microscope when leaving Star City. So you're going to have to find some other way to prove to me that you are not of this world." She sat herself back down on the couch and eyed him expectantly. Put the burden of proof on him, she thought. Maybe then he'll snap out of it.

"Okay," he said simply. "Um," he turned in a slow circle, looking around the room, presumably trying to find the appropriate way to prove his theory. "I have a lot of powers," he said. "Strength, speed, invulnerability, enhanced hearing, lung capacity and – watch the candles -" Thinking it very typically male to fantasise about having so many powers, she turned to see the candelabra on the side table he was indicating, "and heat vision," he finished.

The candles sprung to life one by one as he stared intently at them, and Lois's immediate reaction was to scoff, thinking he must have come in earlier to set this up, but then she noticed the subtle waves of heat displacing the air in a direct line from his eyes to the candles, and her hand flew to her mouth, eyes widening as the implications actually sunk in.

Clark lit the last candle, and turned to her like a nervous puppy looking for approval. She couldn't move.

"Lois?" he asked, looking worried.

"Uh, huh," she said vaguely, now moving slowly and inexorably toward the candelabra. He stayed quiet as she did. When she reached it she put her forefinger experimentally through the flames, feeling the very real heat on her skin. This wouldn't prove anything of course, but she felt she should inspect what he'd done in some way, and it bought her a few seconds to process things.

Clark had powers. Clark had _always_ had powers. Clark had pretended not to believe in aliens. Clark was a much better liar than she had ever suspected. Her heart sank and she felt a slight thrill of fear as she realised she had no idea who the man standing behind her really was. But then, suddenly, she did.

She turned to face him.

"You're the red and blue blur!"


End file.
